70 
U47P53 


Statements  Relating  to  a 
Navy  lard  in  the  Delaware 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


THE    NAVY   YARD 


IN    THE 


DELAWARE. 


STATEMENTS 


RELATING  TO 


A  NAVY  YAED  IN  THE  DELAWAKE, 


FOE  THE  CONSTRUCTION  AND  EQUIPMENT  OF 


IfiON-CLAD  STEAM-SHIPS  OF  WAR, 


PROPOSED  TO  BE  ESTABLISHED 


AT   LEAGUE   ISLAND. 


PREPARED  BY  A  SPECIAL  COMMITTEE  OF  THE  BOARD  OF  TRADE  OF  PHILADELPHIA. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

COLLINS,  PRINTER,  705  JAYNE  STREET. 
1862. 


7 


, 


YA 

70 

L.47I53 


THE  NAVY  YARD  TN  THE  DELAWARE. 


THE  attention  of  the  Naval  authorities  has  for  some  time  past 
been  directed  to  the  selection  of  a  site  for  more  extensive  opera- 
tions, particularly  in  iron  steam-ship  building,  than  are  practicable 
at  any  of  the  existing  Navy  Yards  of  the  United  States.  The  most 
hasty  inspection  of  the  Atlantic  coast  and  harbors  indicates  the 
Delaware  Bay  and  River  as  the  natural  choice  for  such  a  Navy 
Yard,  unless  insuperable  objections  should  appear  on  closer 
examination — objections  arising  in  the  depth  of  water,  or  the 
character  of  shore  and  bottom  at  the  point  of  actual  location. 
Geographically  the  Delaware  is  central ;  it  is  the  most  southern 
point  available  within  the  loyal  States;  it  is  entirely  land-locked, 
and  capable  of  defence,  at  least  as  long  as  the  Capital  itself,  from 
any  foreign  attack.  It  is  the  natural  outlet  of  the  coal  and  iron 
regions;  it  is  the  central  point  of  supply  of  ship  timber;  it  is 
nearer  the  great  grain  and  provision  producing  interior  than  any 
other  seaboard  location.  All  supplies,  and  all  forms  of  labor  are 
at  their  minimum  of  price,  and  abundant  beyond  any  possibility 
of  exhaustion. 

It  was  not  merely  a  NAVAL  STATION  for  a  fleet  that  was  de- 
sired. It  was  a  great  central  workshop  for  the  CONSTRUCTION 
OF  AN  IRON-CLAD  STEAM  NAVY,  which  was  contemplated  by  the 
Secretary,  in  his  letter  of  the  9th  June,  1862,  addressed  to  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States;  and  to  which  that  body  responded 
by  the  passage  of  the  Act  of  15th  July,  1862,  entitled  "An  Act 


to  authorize  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  accept  the  title  to 
League  Island,  in  the  Delaware  River,  for  Naval  purposes." 

It  could  hardly  be  possible  that  the  Naval  authorities  should 
avoid  making  preliminary  selection  of  the  Delaware;  and  hav- 
ing done  so,  that  they  should  take  all  requisite  steps  to  con- 
firm the  selection ;  and  to  ascertain  whether  insuperable  objec- 
tibns  would  be  found,  not  apparent  without  close  examination. 
An  act  of  Congress  being  requisite  to  the  purchase  of  a  site, 
and  necessary  also  to  the  acceptance  of  title  to  League  Island, 
— which  (on  intimation  that  it  was  the  choice  of  the  Naval 
authorities)  was  tendered  as  a  site,  without  cost  to  the  Govern- 
ment, by  the  City  of  Philadelphia : — it  was  provided  in  the  Act 
that  a  Commission  should  examine  and  report  to  the  Secretary 
of  the  Navy  the  facts  disclosed  by  a  close  and  thorough  in- 
quiry, to  enable  him  to  comply  at  once  with  the  law  and  the  re- 
quirements of  the  public  service.  By  an  amendment  to  this  Act 
the  Commission  was  instructed  to  examine  two  other  sites,  sug- 
gested in  Congress,  by  members  of  that  body,  and  not  by  the 
Naval  authorities. 

In  the  course  of  the  examination  prosecuted  by  this  Commis- 
sion, it  became  the  duty  of  the  friends  of  the  original  selection  in 
the  Delaware,  to  lay  before  it  a  brief  statement  of  the  reasons 
affecting  the  case,  and  in  their  judgment  controlling  it.  This 
statement  is,  in  substance,  though  not  precisely  in  form,  repro- 
duced here;  taking  up  the  principal  points  nearly  in  the  order 
chosen  by  the  Commissioners,  in  a  series  of  inquiries  propounded 
by  them. 


I. 

SHIP  TIMBER. 

Central  and  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  with  the  vicinity  of  the 
Delaware  Bay  and  river  in  the  States  of  Delaware,  Maryland,  and 
New  Jersey,  constitutes  now  the  great  source  of  supply  of  ship 
timber  to  the  Atlantic  coast  of  the  United  States,  live  oak  and 
Southern  yellow  pine  excepted.  New  York  and  Maine  are  par- 
ticularly dependent  on  this  source  of  supply  for  oak  and  mast 
timber. 

The  interior,  at  the  sources  of  the  Susquehanna  River,  has  an 
inexhaustible  supply  of  white  pine  mast  and  spar  timber,  white 
pine  plank  stock  and  decking,  all  of  the  largest  size.  There  is 
also  an  abundant  supply  of  a  variety  of  yellaw  pine,  scarcely 
second  to  the  Southern  yellow  pine  in  strength  and  durability, 
brought  from  the  Susquehanna  region ;  but  less  in  size  than  the 
white  pine. 

The  interior  valleys  also  furnish  the  best  long  oak  for  keels, 
beams,  long  plank  stock,  &c.,  now  known  in  the  United  States,  as 
do  the  counties  bordering  on  the  Delaware,  and  parts  of  the 
States  of  Delaware  and  Maryland.  This  district  is  celebrated  for 
its  superior  oak,  great  quantities  being  cut  for  export  to  England ; 
and  no  other  part  of  the  United  States  within  reach  of  tide  water 
now  yields  oak  of  the  requisite  size  for  ship  frames. 

Most  of  this  oak  and  pine  reaches  the  Delaware  from  the  Sus- 
quehanna River  in  timber  rafts,  though  some  is  brought  by  rail- 
roads and  canals  to  the  Schuylkill  and  Delaware  Rivers.  Oak 
knees  are  most  abundantly  produced  near  the  Delaware,  and 
are  brought  by  various  modes. 


The  following  designations  of  timber  for  Navy  Yard  supply 
are  now  chiefly  drawn  from  the  sources  named  above: — 

1.  White  oak  logs.  7.  Yellow  pine  (of  Penna.)  logs,  &c. 

2.  "         keel  pieces.  8.  Ash  logs,  plank,  and  oars. 

3.  "        promiscuous  timber.  9.  Hickory  butts  and  hand  spikes. 

4.  "         plank  (cut  here).  10.  Black  walnut  and  cherry. 

5.  White  pine  mast  and  spar  timber.       11.  Locust  (stanchions  and  trenails). 

6.  "      logs  (plank  and  decking).     12.  White  oak  staves  and  heading. 

The  following  additional  designations  of  timber  are  at  least  as 
abundant  here  as  at  any  other  point:  — 

1.  Cedar.  2.  Poplar.  3.  White  heart  hickory. 

The  sources  of  supply  of  live  oak,  Southern  yellow  pine, 
cypress,  and  other  semi-tropical  timbers,  are  of  course  the  same 
here  as  at  other  points  on  the  Atlantic  coast. 

Black  spruce,  spar  timber  is  obtained  from  Maine  and  the 
British  Provinces.  This  is  the  only  description  of  ship  timber 
required  for  naval  purposes  now  brought  from  those  sources, 
hackmatack  knees  being  used  only  in  small  merchant  vessels. 

The  quality  of  the  ship  timber  of  Pennsylvania  is  in  all  respects 
superior.  First.  The  oak  is  superior  to  all  others  in  length,  and 
in  solidity  and  durability.  The  length  is  nearly  double,  on  the 
average,  to  that  cut  in  Maine;  and  as  described  in  timber  bills 
for  Eastern  ship  builders,  is,  for  keelson,  streak,  and  planking, 
"35  to  50  feet,"  with  special  lengths  beyond  these.  The  Delaware 
oak  is  also  celebrated  for  its  strength  and  durability,  qualities 
attested  by  the  preference  long  shown,  both  by  Eastern  and 
English  ship  builders,  by  the  extraordinary  strength  of  ships 
built  here  (vide  Cope's  and  Penrose  and  Burton's  ships),  and  also 
by  the  well  known  principles  applying  to  this  climate,  soil,  and 
the  open  field  growth  peculiar  here. 

Second.  The  pine  of  the  Susquehanna  is  superior  in  size  and  in 


quality.  Masts  of  70  to  80  feet  in  length  and  of  26  to  42  inches 
diameter  (dressed)  are  easily  and  regularly  obtained.  The  lands 
from  which  they  are  cut  are  inexhaustible  for  a  century.  The 
planking  is  considered  stronger  than  that  cut  from  Canada  pine. 
Pennsylvania  yellow  pine  is  abundant,  clear,  makes  excellent 
spars,  and  plank,  declared  by  our  ship  builders  equal  to  the  best 
Southern.  It  dresses  smaller  than  white  pine,  and  has  a  share  of 
sapwood  to  be  removed. 

Masts  and  spars  are  regularly  supplied  in  all  timber  bills  for 
ships  to  be  built  at  New  York  and  in  Maine ;  they  are  sent  in 
rafts,  unfinished,  to  New  York,  through  the  New  Jersey  canals; 
and  are  sent  dressed  to  the  W«st  Indies  for  repair  of  dismasted 
vessels. 

II. 
IRON— ITS  PRODUCTION  AND  COST. 

The  hydrographic  basin  of  every  river  in  Pennsylvania  is  a 
source  of  iron  supply.  In  the  valley  of  the  Schuylkill,  fifteen 
miles  from  League  Island,  furnaces  are  in  blast  making  pig  iron 
from  ores  mined  near  by.  From  the  Eastern  Counties  of  Penn- 
sylvania, our  rail  and  water  routes,  home-made  iron  of  every  kind 
and  quality,  and  in  any  quantity,  can  be  delivered  at  Philadel- 
phia. As  to  the  price  of  iron,  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  the  prices 
of  American  iron  are  always  lower  in  Philadelphia  than  in  any 
other  city  on  tide  water.  Pig  iron  is  manufactured  at  less  cost 
per  ton  on  lines  of  communication  which  terminate  in  Philadel- 
phia, than  at  any  spot  outside  of  Pennsylvania.  The  price  of 
iron  depends  of  course  upon  the  condition  of  the  market;  when 
fuel  is  cheapest  the  cost  of  the  manufacture  of  pig  metal  is  lowest; 
and  when  the  demand  is  active  the  price  of  iron  tends  upward. 
It  is  said  that  pig  iron  has  been  made  in  the  vicinity  of  Lebanon, 


8 

in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  at  a  cost  not  exceeding  eleven  dollars  a 
ton — fuel  being  very  cheap  at  the  time.  Seventeen  dollars  is  a 
low  price  for  pig  metal,  of  the  kind  and  quality  made  in  the 
Furnace  regions  on  the  Schuylkill  and  Lehigh,  and  may  be  re- 
garded as  its  minimum  price  in  the  Philadelphia  market,  in  regu- 
lar transactions  twenty-five  dollars  per  ton  being  its  maximum 
price.  From  the  furnaces  to  Philadelphia  transportation  is  cheaper 
than  to  any  other  market,  and  hence  prices  are  always  lower  in 
Philadelphia  than  in  any  other  seaport  city. 

In  and  near  Philadelphia  and  throughout  the  State  of  Pennsyl- 
vania every  description  of  iron  is  manufactured,  and  is  sold  at 
prices  which  are  enhanced  by  the*  addition  of  cost  of  transporta- 
tion to  points  beyond  the  State;  in  short  Pennsylvania  makes  iron 
cheaper  than  any  other  State,  and  Philadelphia  sells  iron  cheaper 
than  any  other  city. 

The  United  States  Census  of  1860  gives  the  following  statistics 
of  the  production  of  Iron: — 

"The  quantity  of  Pig  Iron  returned  by  the  Census  of  1860  was 
884,474  tons,  valued  at  $19,487,790;  an  increase  of  44  per  cent, 
upon  the  value  returned  in  1850." — "Pennsylvania  makes  (52.5 
per  cent,  of  the  quantity,  and  58.6  per  cent,  of  the  value  of  the 
whole  production."  By  Table  No.  9  of  the  Census  report  the 
comparison  is  as  follows: — 

Tons  of  Ore.    Tons  of  Pig  Iron.        Value. 

Pennsylvania          .,      .        .     1,706,476         553,560         $11,427,379 
All  other  States     .        .        .       807,806         330,944  8,060,411 


Total          .        .        .     2,514,282         884,504         $19,487,790 
Pennsylvania  over  all  others         898,670         222,616  $3,366,968 

Connecticut  has      .        .        .         20,700  11,000  379,500 


Of  Bar  and  other  Eolled  Iron  the  following  is  the  compari- 
son:— 

Tons.  Value. 

Pennsylvania          .        .        .    259,709  $12,643,500 

All  other  States      .        .        .    146,589  9,605,096 


Total    ....    406,298  $22,248,596 

Pennsylvania  over  all  others       113,120  3,038,404 

Connecticut  has      .        .        .        2,060  175,500 


III. 
COAL. 

Coal  is  brought  to  Philadelphia  direct  from  mines  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, over  six  carrying  lines,  three  canals  and  three  railroads, 
the  principal  one  of  which  is  the  Philadelphia  and  Eeading  Kail- 
road  ;  the  second  one  the  Schuylkill  Canal ;  both  of  which  car- 
riers have  descending  routes  (as  also  have  two  of  the  other  lines) 
from  the  coal  region  to  Philadelphia. 

The  Coal  Fields  are  nearer  to  Philadelphia  than  to  any  other 
city  on  tide  water,  and  from  the  mines,  transportation  is  cheaper 
to  Philadelphia  than  to  any  other  seaport;  hence,  mineral  fuel 
can  always  be  obtained  in  Philadelphia  at  lower  rates  than  in  any 
other  city  along  the  seaboard.  Of  the  coal  annually  brought 
down  the  Schuylkill  valley,  from  the  Schuylkill  mines  to  Phila- 
delphia, nearly  a  million  tons  are  forwarded  through  Philadelphia  to 
New  York  City  and  its  adjacencies,  and  this  could  not  be  done  if 
the  difference  in  favor  of  Philadelphia  were  not  equal  to  the  cost 
of  transportation  from  Philadelphia  to  New  York  City  and  its 
neighborhood,  say  one  dollar  per  ton. 

At  Mauch  Chunk,  a  principal  shipping  point  in  the  Lehigh 
coal  region,  at  date  April  1,  about  which  time  the  season  of  navi- 


10 


gation  begins,  the  Lehigh  Coal  and  Navigation  Company  sold 
their  lump  coal,  best  quality,  to  iron  furnace  owners  at  the  prices, 
to  wit: — 


1862,  April  1,  $1.75  per  ton  of  2240  Ibs. 

1861,       "          1.85 

1860,       "          1.85        "  " 

1859,       "          1.70        " 

1858,       "          1.85        " 


Average  for  five  years,  $1.80 
per  ton. 


Hazleton  Lump  Coal,  best  quality  for  furnaces,  delivered  at 
Mauch  Chunk  at  same  dates,  at  prices  so  nearly  corresponding 
with  the  above,  that  the  average  is  $1.80  ^  per  ton. 

From  Mauch  Chunk,  April  1,  1862,  commencement  of  Canal 
Navigation,  the  cost  of  transporting  coal  to  Philadelphia,  includ- 
ing all  charges,  to  wit:  Toll,  freight  and  steam  towing,  was  §1.25 
per  ton.  At  date,  April  1,  1862,  the  cost  of  Lehigh  coal,  best 
quality,  delivered  in  Philadelphia,  was  $8.00  per  ton  of  2240 
pounds.  Farther  eastward  coal  is  sold  by  the  net  ton  of  2000 
pounds. 

At  Schuylkill  Haven,  a  principal  shipping  point  in  the  Sclmyl- 
kill  region,  where  there  is  'a  railroad  with  a  descending  grade  to 
Philadelphia,  and  a  canal  with  a  descending  lockage  to  Philadel- 
phia, a  facility  and  advantage  possessed  by  no, other  city  on  tide 
water,  at  date,  April  1,  the  spring  time  of  Canal  Navigation,  the 
cost  of  Blade  JTeath  Coal  and  Locust  Mountain  Coal,  both  cele- 
brated coals,  was  'as  follows : — 


1862,  April  1,  $2.05  per  ton  of  2240  Ibs. 
1861,       "          1.90 
1860,       "          1.90 
1859,       "          1.90 
1858,       "          1.85 


Average  cost  for  five  years, 
$1.92  per  ton. 


From  Schuylkill  Haven,  April  1,  1862,  the  toll  and  freight  on 
coal  carried  by  canal  to  Philadelphia  was  one  dollar  per  ton, 


11 

which,  added  to  the  cost  of  coal  at  Schuylkill  Haven,  gives  the 
cost  of  coal  at  Philadelphia  at  the  date  named. 

These  prices  to  be  sure  are  minimum  prices;  still,  whatever 
may  be  the  prices  prevailing  in  the  general  tidewater  market, 
Philadelphia  prices,  as  compared  with  other  seaport  prices,  are 
always  lower  in  amount,  equal  to  the  difference  in  the  cost  of 
transportation  from  the  several  mining  regions  to  the  different 
markets. 

From  the  anthracite  and  semi-anthracite  basins  in  the  Susque- 
hanna  Valley,  and  from  the  semi-bituminous  and  bituminous 
basins  in  the  Juniata  and  West  Branch  Valleys,  there  is  direct 
communication  with  Philadelphia  by  railroad  and  by  canal.  And 
from  Western  Pennsylvania  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  carries 
annually  to  tidewater  very  many  tons  of  the  best  gas  coals  mined 
in  the  United  States,  which  coal  is  also  extremely  valuable  for 
steam  generating  purposes  in  all  forms  of  engines. 

Moreover,  Cumberland  Coal  mined  in  Maryland  can  be  deli- 
vered at  League  Island  for  one  dollar  per  ton  less  price  than  in 
New  York  City  or  its  vicinage. 

Broad  Top  Coal,  which  is  adapted  to  all  the  use  to  which  Cum- 
berland Coal  is  or  can  be  successfully  applied,  is  shipped  from 
Huntingdon  in  cars  and  boats  to  Philadelphia,  upon  routes  wholly 
within  the  State  of  Pennsylvania. 

About  one-third  of  the  geographical  area  of  Pennsylvania 
(which  comprises  47,000  square  miles)  is  coal  territory,  and  of  all 
the  coal  mined  in  the  United  States,  three-fourths  is  mined  in 
Pennsylvania. 


12 

The  Preliminary  Report  of  the  Census  of  1860  has  the  follow- 
ing statistics  of  the  production  of  Coal  in  the  United  States: — 

Tons  Bituminous.         Value.  Tons  Anthracite.  Value. 

Pennsylvania        .     2,679,772         $2,833,859         9,397,332          $11,869,574 
All  other  States  .     3,162,787  4,692,822  1,000  5,000 


Total          .     5,842,559         $7,526,681          9,398,332          $11,874,574 
Aggregate  of  Anthracite  and  Bituminous: — 

Tons.  Value. 

Pennsylvania  ....     12,077,104  $14,703,433 

All  other  States       .        .        .      3,163,787  4,697,822 


Pennsylvania  over  all  others  .      8,913,317  $10,005,611 

IV. 
POPULATION— LABOR  AND  MILITARY  POWER. 

The  vicinity  of  Philadelphia  and  the  Delaware  River  is  the 
most  populous  district  of  the  seaboard,  New  York  only  excepted. 
Within  a  circuit  of  thirty-five  miles  from  the  proposed  site  at 
League  Island  the  aggregate  population  is  nearly  one  million. 
Philadelphia  alone  has  600,000;  the  adjacent  counties  of  Penn- 
sylvania— Delaware.  Chester,  Bucks,  and  Montgomery,  150,000 
more;  the  city  of  Wilmington  and  county  of  New  Castle,  in  the 
State  of  Delaware,  50,000  more ;  the  cities  of  Camden  and  Tren- 
ton, with  the  best  parts  of  five  counties  in  New  Jersey,  more  than 
150,000  in  addition.  From  the  Delaware  River  near  Wilmington 
the  distance  to  Baltimore  is  but  65  miles,  with  easy  access  by 
railroad  and  canal.  The  exact  population  of  this  district  by  the 
census  of  1860  is  as  follows : — 


13 


In  Pennsylvania — Philadelphia 

Delaware  County 
Chester  County 
Montgomery  County 
Bucks  County    . 

In  New  Jersey — Burlington  County 
Mercer  County 
Camden  County 
Gloucester  County 
Salem  County    . 

In  Delaware — New  Castle  County 


565,529 
30,597 
74,578 
70,500 
63,578 

49,730 
37,419 
34,457 
18,444 
22,458 


804,782 


Total  population 


162,508 
54,797 

.    1,022,087 


MILITARY  POWER. 

The  ratio  of  persons  liable  to  military  duty  is  very  nearly  one- 
sixth.  In  Philadelphia  alone  the  number  is  more  than  100,000,  by 
the  most  careful  calculation  and  correction  of  the  Marshal's  return?. 
The  same  proportions  give,  in  a  total  population  of  1,000,000, 


NOTE. 

The  United  States  Marshal's  enrolment  in  August,  1862,  of  persons  liable 
to  military  duty  was 

For  Philadelphia,      100,754:         In  service  as  volunteers,  19,505 
"     Delaware  Co.,  Pa.  6,052 :  "  "  1.540 

In  Philadelphia  the  Draft  Commissioners  declared  exempt  from  draft,  of 
those  enrolled,  16,397,  leaving  86,367  liable.     Add  to  these  the  number  in 

service  as  volunteers,  and  we  have 86,367 

In  service  as  volunteers 19,505 

In  marine  and  navy 1,861 

Total  military  force  of  Philadelphia,    .        .        .    107,733 

Which  is  eighteen  per  cent,  of  the  whole  population.  The  same  proportion 
in  the  whole  area,  having  1,000,000  inhabitants,  would  give  180,000  as  the 
military  force. 


14 

166,600  liable  to  military  service.  The  military  power  of  such 
a  district  far  exceeds  that  of  any  other  similar  area  of  the  United 
States,  except  the  immediate  vicinity  of  New  York.  It  is  clearly 
sufficient  for  any  possible  contingency  of  danger  to  a  great  Navy 
Yard. 

THE  LABOE  POWER 

Next  to  military  power  as  a  consideration  in  locating  great 
public  works,  are  the  facilities  for  obtaining  the  requisite  labor, 
skilled  and  unskilled.  The  labor  chiefly  required  at  a  Navy 
Yard  of  the  kind  proposed  here,  is  that  of  ordinary  ship  builders, 
and  of  engine  builders  and  iron  workers.  Both  these  classes  are 
already  occupied  here  in  larger  numbers  than  in  any  other 
locality. 

In  regular  ship  building,  the  present  Navy  Yard  at  Philadel- 
phia employs  an  average  of  near  two  thousand  persons,  all  on 
timber  work.  Other  ship  builders  of  the  city  employ  at  least  as 
many  more;  while  the  small  towns  of  the  Delaware  River  below 
— Chester,  Wilmington,  New  Castle,  and  others — employ  a  large 
number  in  addition.  The  aggregate  of  skilled  workmen  in  ship 
timber  in  and  near  Philadelphia  cannot  be  less  ihaufive  thousand, 
while  a  remunerative  demand  arising  here  in  addition  to  the 
employment  at  present  given,  would  bring  a  'much  larger  num- 
ber at  once. 

SKILLED  LABOR  IN  IRON  AND  MACHINERY  is  relatively  far 
more  abundant  at  Philadelphia  than  any  other,  and  it  is  the 
especial  requisite  to  the  erection  and  operation  of  a  great  Iron 
shipbuilding  establishment.  By  the  Census  of  1860  there  were 
employed  in  iron  and  steel  manufactures,  in  Philadelphia  alone, 
10,917  men,  with  a  capital  of  $10,290,125,  and  a  production  of 
$14,775,213.  In  the  adjacent  townships,  within  a  very  few  miles, 


15 


there  are  thirty-four  forges,  foundries,  and  rolling  mills  in  addi- 
tion, employing  2,430  men,  and  producing  $3,888,151  annually. 
There  are  six  conspicuous  iron  steamship  building  works;  four 
establishments  at  which  heavy  ordnance  are  made,  of  wrought 
and  cast  iron ;  and  several  establishments  casting  shot  and  shell. 
The  capacity  of  these  works  is  enormous.  Two  extensive  manu- 
factories of  small  arms  exist,  one  recently  erected,  and  capable 
of  turning  out  a  quantity  second  to  the  Springfield  Armory  only. 
The  following  is  a  list  of  the  number  of  works  conspicuous  for 
their  extent  in  the  leading  classes: — 


Heavy  Machinists'  tools,  Iron  planes,  drills,  &c. 
Forges,  for  ship  shafts,  and  heavy  plate  and  axles     . 

Rolling  Mills;  bar,  plate,  and  sheet 

Heavy  Ordnance  foundries 

Manufactories  of  Small  arms 

Heavy  Ordnance,  wrought          ...... 

Shot  and  Shell  foundries 

Shipping  Foundries  and  Iron  Shipbuilding  establishments 
Steam  Engines  and  general  Machinery  .... 
Locomotives,  Axles,  and  Car  Wheels  .... 
General  Foundries  and  Building  Foundries 


The  following,  from  the  U.  S.  Census  of  Manufactures  for  1860, 
gives  the  aggregate  of  all  the  establishments  in  Iron  manufacture 
then  existing ;  the  manufacture  of  ordnance  and  arms  having 
been  commenced  since  that  time: — 


Two. 

Three. 
Twelve. 

/i. 

Two. 

7- 

Three. 

^ 

One. 
Three. 

ws 

Seven. 

7 

Fifty-three. 
Four. 

i 

Twenty-five. 

- 

16 


General  Foundries ;  pipes,  hol- 
low-ware, &c.  &c. 

General  Machinery;  Ship  Ma- 
chinery, Steam  Engines,  Lo- 
comotives, &c. 

Rolled  Iron ;  bar,  plate,  &c.     . 

Wrought  Iron ;  Smithwork, 
sheet-iron  work,  &c.  . 

Steel  Works,  and  various  manu- 
factures of  steel,  &c.  .  • 

Manufactures  in  part  of  Iron 
and  Steel;  Cars,  Carriages, 
Wagons,  &c. 

Iron  Manufactures  in  adjacent 
townships  within  a  few  miles 
of  Philadelphia: — 

Furnaces  and  Forges 

Foundries         .... 

Rolling  Mills,  on  bar,  rails, 
sheet,  and  plate  . 

Machinery  and  Tools 

Totals 


No.  Estab- 
lishments. 

45 


Capital        Hands  em- 
invested,          ployed. 


Value  of 
Production. 


1,773,150        1,778        $2,366,683 


105 

4,932,600 

4,617 

5,598,656 

19 

1,133,000 

1,311 

2,338,777 

376 

1,435,825 

2,020 

2,633,469 

105 

1,015,550 

1,191 

1,837,658 

190          1,961,050        2,529          2,930,733 


12  $777,000  376 

4  233,000  210  288,000 

12  1,917,610  1,680  2,611,251 

6  117,000  153  142,600 

874  $15,295,785  15,865  $21,581,627 


Y. 


MAINTENANCE  OF  LABOR— RESIDENCES,  PRO- 
VISIONS, ETC. 


Prominent  among  the  questions  affecting  the  establishment  of 
extensive  public  works,  are  those  concerning  the  maintenance  of 
the  men  necessarily  employed.  If  no  facilities  exist  for  the  ready 
housing  and  provisioning  of  thousands  of  men  employed  on 
public  works,  they  cannot  be  readily  gathered,  or  be  kept  in  em- 
ployment except  at  high  wages.  These  questions  have  been 
considered,  it  is  believed,  in  the  action  already  taken,  and  the 


17 

result  is  overwhelmingly  in  favor  of  a  Naval  site  on  the  Dela- 
ware. 

The  site  proposed  at  League  Island,  is  practically  a  part  of  the 
city  of  Philadelphia.  It  is  but  two  miles  from  portions  of  the 
city  already  densely  built  up,  and  the  intervening  space  is  pecu- 
liarly favorable  to  the  natural  extension  of  the  city.  In  the 
natural  progress  of  population  one-half  of  this  intervening  area 
will  be  built  over  within  a  very  few  years. 

Philadelphia  has  long  been  celebrated  for  the  superiority  of 
the  dwellings  occupied  by  workmen  of  all  classes.  Hundreds  of 
streets  are  built  up  with  neat  and  comfortable  brick  houses,  the 
rent  of  which  is  from  four  to  eight  dollars  per  month,  and  which 
are  occupied  under  circumstances  of  peculiar  comfort.  Em- 
ployers here  are  always  able  to  command  skilled  labor  in  greater 
abundance  than  elsewhere,  for  this  among  other  reasons.  This 
superiority,  both  in  cost  and  in  comfort,  of  buildings  for  the  resi- 
dences of  men  in  every  grade  of  employment  is,  and  has  long 
been,  the  admiration  of  Europeans  as  well  as  of  the  people  of 
other  parts  of  the  United  States. 

Communication  with  the  site  of  the  Navy  Yard,  from  all  parts 
of  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  will  be  as  easy,  from  the  outset  of  its 
establishment,  as  with  any  other  part  of  the  city.  The  admirable 
passenger  railway  system  already  has  charters  awarded  to  cover 
the  extension  of  a  road  to  that  point,  and  as  the  distance  is  but 
two  miles,  or  less  than  half  the  distance  through  the  city  in  any 
direction — less  than  half  the  average  length  of  the  passenger  rail- 
roads now  traversing  it; — it  is  absurd  to  suppose  that  communica- 
tion with  League  Island  will  be  subjected  to  serious  difficulties. 
In  fact,  the  thousands  of  skilled  workmen  to  be  employed  there, 
will,  in  most  cases,  not  be  required  to  change  their  residence  at 
all,  or  can  do  so  only  in  their  own  time  and  at  their  own  conve- 
nience in  every  respect.  The  passenger  railway  system  of  Phila- 
delphia is  perfected  to  a  degree  no  other  city  can  expect  to  attain. 
2 


18 

It  traverses  almost  every  considerable  street  of  the  city,  and  in 
several  cases  extends  for  miles  beyond,  in  the  country  and  sub- 
urban towns.  The  rate  of  fare  is  often  far  below  the  rate  on  rail- 
ways in  general,  five  cents  sufficing  for  as  many  miles. 

Provisions  are  at  their  minimum  of  price  at  Philadelphia  as 
compared  with  any  other  city  or  point  of  the  seaboard.  The 
local  markets  have  long  been  celebrated  for  their  profusion  and 
cheapness,  and  the  extent  of  the  highly  cultivated  country  from 
which  they  are  supplied,  increases  even  more  rapidly  than  the 
population.  Intermediate  between  the  northern  and  southern 
extremes,  they  have  the  advantage  of  both,  without  their  disad- 
vantages. Supplies  of  perishable  provisions  come  early  and 
remain  late;  they  are  always  abundant  and  always  cheap. 

Grain  and  flour  can  be  laid  down  from  Chicago,  or  any  other 
great  exporting  point,  on  an  average  fifteen  cents  per  barrel 
cheaper  at  Philadelphia  than  at  New  York.  All  other  heavy 
freight  in  provisions,  beef,  pork,  bacon,  &c.,  is  equally  capable  of 
cheap  delivery.  Such  stores  are,  and  always  have  been,  cheaper 
to  purchase  in  this  market  for  European  or  tropical  export  than 
in  any  other  of  the  Atlantic  coast.  The  distance  traversed  from 
the  great  provision  producing  districts  of  the  interior  to  Phila- 
delphia is  ninety  miles  less  than  to  New  York,  and  therefore,  no 
other  market  can  have  equality  with  this  in  prices  and  facility  of 
purchase  of  these  essentials  of  a  depot  of  government  supply. 
Any  city  or  locality  of  the  New  England  coast  must  be  at  disad- 
vantage in  this  respect  by  not  only  the  cost  of  carriage  from 
Philadelphia,  but  by  all  the  additional  difference  caused  by  want 
of  regular  market  and  regular  supplies. 

These  are  but  few  of  the  reasons  why  a  great  public  establish- 
ment on  the  Delaware  near  Philadelphia,  would  be  peculiarly 
favored  in  all  that  relates  to  the  cost  and  supply  of  labor,  the 
maintenance  of  men,  and  the  abundance  and  cost  of  stores  of 
provisions. 


19 


YL 
WATER  STORES  AND  SUPPLY. 

Fresh  water  in  abundance  for  ship  supply,  is  also  a  requisite 
in  a  great  naval  establishment.  The  Delaware  River,  at  League 
Island,  is  peculiarly  favored  in  this  respect.  The  mean  point  of 
brackishness  is  very  nearly  at  Wilmington,  Delaware;  and  brack- 
ish water  never  comes  within  ten  miles  of  League  Island.  Ships 
are  accustomed  to  take  in  water  at  all  points  below  the  junction 
of  the  Delaware  and  Schuylkill  down  to  Marcus  Hook,  a  distance 
of  fifteen  miles.  The  water  of  the  two  rivers  is  also  peculiarly 
valuable  for  ship  supply,  and  it  has  long  been  celebrated  for  its 
facility  of  long  preservation.  Shipping  from  the  New  England 
ports  prefer  it,  and  take  in  supplies  for  the  round  voyage,  if  pos- 
sible. Vessels  in  the  trans-Atlantic  trade  do  the  same,  particu- 
larly packets  regularly  trading  to  British  ports.  There  is  no 
better  water,  nor  are  facilities  to  procure  water,  for  shipping  sup- 
ply, anywhere  equal  to  those  of  the  Delaware  River  at  and  below 
the  site  of  the  proposed  yard. 

WATER  FOR  DOCKING  PURPOSES. 

Ample  dock  room,  in  fresh  water,  is  indispensable  for  vessels 
of  all  classes,  but  particularly  for  ships  built  of  iron.  The  whole 
of  the  broad  bay  formed  in  the  Delaware  at  League  Island  is 
available  as  anchorage  ground  for  vessels  merely  waiting  orders, 
and  the  island,  both  on  its  front  and  sides,  affords  peculiar  facili- 
ties for  the  construction  of  docks.  The  tide  is  six  feet,  and 
always  without  violence  of  current  or  roughness  of  sea.  The 
whole  circuit  of  the  island  could  be  employed  for  the  dockage 
of  ships,  with  but  a  small  amount  of  excavation. 


20 

The  destructiveness  of  the  teredo,  or  ship  worm,  has  become 
extreme  in  all  salt-water  yards  and  bays,  such  as  Norfolk.  These 
scourges  increase  in  numbers  and  destructiveness  every  year,  and 
it  often  requires  but  two  or  three  years  of  service  of  an  ordinary 
vessel,  to  effect  the  ruin  of  its  best  timbers.  A  piece  of  the  tim- 
bers of  a  vessel  which  made  its  first  voyage  from  Philadelphia 
in  June,  1862,  and  remained  in  the  waters  of  the  vicinity  of 
Fortress  Monroe  until  October  1st  only,  is  cut  into  a  complete 
honey-comb.  Such  is  the  rapid  work  of  the  salt  water  ship  worm ; 
more  rapid  in  the  Chesapeake  than  in  Northern  waters,  but 
abundant  in  all  salt  water.  Fresh  water  destroys  them. 

The  effect  of  salt  water  on  iron  ships  is  as  yet  imperfectly 
known,  but  it  must  be  severely  adverse  to  their  durability  when 
under  construction,  or  laid  up,  at  least.  The  harbor  of  Philadel- 
phia and  at  League  Island  is  the  only  one  in  the  United  States 
that  is  at  once  ample  in  capacity  and  perfectly  secure.  Iron  ship- 
building is  just  at  the  entrance  to  a  career  of  unknown  extent; 
it  is  only  known  that  iron  must  very  largely,  and  possibly  almost 
entirely,  supplant  wood  in  the  building  of  vessels  of  every  class 
required  in  the  government  service.  Iron  vessels  cannot  be 
built  with  economy,  or  even  safety,  where  ample  fresh  water 
docks  are  not  at  hand.  The  government  has  recognized  this  ne- 
cessity in  the  action  already  taken. 


VII. 
MINOR  SUPPLIES— STONE,  LIME,  BRICK,  Ac. 

Quarries  of  a  kind  of  gneiss  or  blue  rock,  passing  by  insensible 
gradations  into  a  very  good  granite,  exist  on  the  borders  of  the 
Delaware  Eiver,  a  very  few  miles  from  League  Island  only. 
Access  to  these  quarries  is  easy ;  the  stone  is  abundant  beyond 


21 

any  possibility  of  exhaustion ;  and  transportation  to  the  locality 
where  they  are  wanted  could  nowhere  else  be  so  cheap,  the  quar- 
ries being  at  the  water's  edge.  Dimension  stone,  of  any  requi- 
site size,  can  be  quarried  in  abundance,  weighing  one  to  ten  tons. 
Kough  stone,  for  inner  walls,  are  still  more  abundant  in  the  same 
quarries.  Granite  from  eastern  quarries  can  be  brought  to  Phila- 
delphia actually  cheaper  than  to  New  York  or  New  London, 
because  of  the  great  number  of  vessels  coming  in  ballast  here  for 
coal.  Granite  is  therefore  as  cheap  at  Philadelphia  as  at  Boston, 
nearly. 

Lime  is  made  on  the  Schuylkill  Kiver,  a  few  miles  above 
Philadelphia,  more  abundantly  than  anywhere  else  in  the  United 
States.  It  is,  in  consequence  of  its  abundance  and  superior  qua- 
lity, exported  to  New  York;  to  Eastern  ports;  to  Maryland,  for 
agricultural  purposes;  and  even  to  foreign  countries.  The  Great 
Valley,  so  called  in  the  geology  of  Pennsylvania,  which  is  inter- 
sected by  the  Schuylkill  Kiver  fifteen  miles  from  its  mouth  at 
League  Island,  contains  a  belt  of  limestone  sixty  miles  long  and 
nine  miles  wide,  measured  along  the  Schuylkill  Canal  and  Eeading 
Kail  Road,  both  of  which  works  run  through  it.  The  North 
Pennsylvania  Rail  Road  also  crosses  this  belt  thirteen  miles  from 
the  city ;  but  the  great  lime  works  are  along  the  Schuylkill. 

By  the  census  of  1860,  eight  quarries  on  the  Schuylkill  near 
Philadelphia,  employing  240  men,  produced  as  follows : — 

Lime.  Marble.  Limestone.          Total  value. 

1,913,000  bushels.        50,000  cubic  feet.        37,000  tons.        $237,000. 

One  establishment  alone  made  700,000  bushels  of  lime. 

Bricks  are  well  known  as  being  made  in  great  abundance  and 
superiority  at  Philadelphia;  facts  attested  by  their  export  to  al- 
most all  parts  of  the  United  States.  The  census  of  1860  reports 
54  works  within  the  chartered  limits  of  the  city,  employing  1975 
men,  and  making  an  aggregate  value  of  $1,290,096  of  "  pressed, 
common,  and  fire  brick." 

2* 


VIII. 
CONDITION  OF  THE  RIVER:  DEPTH  OF  WATER,  ICE,  &c 

The  Delaware  River  has  everywhere  great  depth  and  capacity 
for  an  inland  stream.  The  tide  rises  and  falls  six  feet,  consti- 
tuting a  current  sufficient  to  preserve  the  channel  against  sedi- 
mentary deposits.  In  front  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia  the  depth 
of  water  is  remarkable,  varying  from  twenty  to  the  very  extra- 
ordinary depth  of  sixty  feet  at  the  pier  heads;  several  piers 
ending  in  water  fifty-seven  feet  deep  at  low  tide.  The  strong  cur- 
rent maintains  this  depth  with  ease,  in  part  because  the  Delaware 
itself  is  free  from  the  usual  excess  of  sediment  brought  by  great 
rivers  from  the  interior.  In  front  of  League  Island  a  space  of 
more  than  a  mile  and  a  half  in  length  is  swept  by  a  similar  cur- 
rent, over  a  firm  clay  and  gravel  bottom,  maintaining  a  three 
fathom  depth  within  a  hundred  and  fifty  yards  of  the  shore  for 
the  whole  distance.  The  area  off'  this  front  is  very  large  with 
four  fathoms  of  water  at  low  tide.  It  has  been  surveyed  and 
sounded  with  accuracy  by  the  United  States  Coast  Survey,  and 
a  comparison  of  the  charts  of  the  two  bays  shows  the  four  fathom 
water  of  the  Delaware  at  League  Island  to  be  nearly  three  times 
as  great  as  the  area  having  the  same  depth  in  the  bay  at  New 
London,  Connecticut,  a  place  that  has  been  mentioned  as  having 
the  best  water  of  any  northern  location.  The  shoal  water  is  also 
extremely  small  in  area  in  the  Delaware  generally,  and  in  par- 
ticular at  League  Island. 

The  channel  in  the  Delaware  has  been  greatly  improved  within 
two  years  past,  at  a  point  previously  somewhat  difficult,  near  Fort 
Delaware.  On  the  west  of  the  island  on  which  that  fort  is  located 
the  channel  shoaled  to  17  feet  at  low  water,  but  at  the  same  time 
the  old  channel  east  of  the  island,  opened  deeper  than  before, 


23 

and  now  carries  22  feet  at  low  water  over  the  only  bar,  having, 
for  most  of  the  distance  difficult  of  passage  on  the  west  side,  a 
much  greater  depth,  and  a  perfectly  straight  line. 

The  capacity  of  the  Delaware  for  ships  of  the  greatest  draught 
known  was  fully  attested  by  the  easy  entrance  of  the  ship  Cathe- 
dral in  1856,  which  had  waited  at  New  York  for  days  without 
being  able  to  get  over  the  bar,  and  its  equally  easy  and  safe  exit 
with  a  cargo.  With  the  tide  a  draught  of  26  feet  may  be  easily 
brought  up,  but  beyond  20  feet  the  question  becomes  unimport- 
ant, since  vessels  of  great  depth  of  draught  will  not  be  built  in 
future,  and  none  now  possessed  by  the  government  find  difficulty 
in  using  the  Delaware  River  and  the  harbor  of  Philadelphia.  A 
narrow  bar  near  Fort  Mifflin  presents  the  greatest  difficulty  to  a 
ship  of  deep  draught,  probably,  the  channel  deeper  than  18  feet 
at  low  tide  being  very  narrow;  but  the  whole  bar  is  easy  of 
removal  in  case  it  should  be  deemed  requisite  to  improve  that 
point.  Practically  the  difficulty  of  passing  it  is  not  greater  than 
that  of  the  bars  oif  Sandy  Hook,  at  the  entrance  of  New  York 
outer  harbor. 

ICE  IN  THE  DELAWAEE. 

Very  much  has  been  said  of  obstructions  to  the  navigation  of 
the  Delaware  from  ice,  and  a  degree  of  importance  has  been 
attached  to  the  point  wholly  unwarranted.  Like  all  harbors  and 
rivers  of  the  Atlantic  coast,  ice  forms  freely  in  extreme  winters, 
often  covering  the  river  in  front  of  Philadelphia,  and  sometimes 
seriously  obstructing  navigation  at  a  point  called  the  Horse-shoe, 
between  the  city  and  League  Island.  At  and  below  League 
Island  it  is  never  out  of  the  power  of  an  ordinary  Ice  Boat  to 
maintain  navigation  without  interruption,  admitting  easy  entrance 
and  exit  for  sailing  vessels  of  every  class.  The  very  unusual 
severity  of  the  winters  of  1855-6  and  1856-7,  has  exaggerated 
the  fear  of  ice  in  all  our  harbors.  The  winter  last  named  had 


24 

but  two  precedents  in  the  history  of  the  country;  which  were 
the  winters  of  1740-41  and  of  1779-80,  in  both  of  which  Long 
Island  Sound  was  frozen  over  from  Fisher's  Island  to  the  main 
land,  near  New  London,  so  that  sleighs  passed  over  it.  The  ice 
formed  in  Boston  harbor  for  several  miles  out  among  the  islands, 
also :  at  New  York  the  rivers  both  closed  with  ice,  and  heavily 
laden  teams  crossed  to  and  from  Staten  Island.  The  Potomac  at 
Washington  was  frozen  so  that  a  locomotive  engine  was  taken 
across  on  the  ice  in  1856;  and  in  that  and  the  former  years  named, 
the  Potomac,  the  James  River,  and  large  areas  of  the  upper  Ches- 
apeake Bay  were  solidly  frozen.  The  intervals  at  which  the 
Delaware  River  at  and  below  League  Island  would  be  seriously 
obstructed  by  ice,  cannot  be  more  frequent  than  once  in  thirty  or 
forty  years.  At  the  Horse-shoe  shoal  the  ice  might  accumulate 
more  frequently,  perhaps  as  often  as  once  in  fifteen  or  twenty 
years,  and  in  front  of  the  city  the  practical  obstruction  might  be 
somewhat  more  frequent. 

As  a  practical  objection  to  the  location  of  a  Navy  Yard  at 
League  Island  this  appears  to  be  entirely  out  of  the  question,  and 
it  may  be  demonstrated  to  be  such  by  comparing  the  records  of 
temperature  here  with  those  at  other  and  northern  points.  With 
a  climate  so  largely  in  our  favor  as  the  mere  difference  of  latitude 
creates,  and  as  is  proved  by  our  well-known  exemption  from  the 
severity  universally  prevailing  at  and  north  of  New  York,  it  is 
not  easy  to  believe  that  the  Delaware  River,  remarkable  for  its 
mildness  of  climate,  will  be  avoided  because  of  absurd  fears  of 
obstruction  by  ice. 


25 


IX. 
LEAGUE  ISLAND:   ITS  SURFACE,  ETC. 

It  has  been  objected  that  the  surface  of  League  Island  is  too 
low,  and  the  foundation  too  soft  for  extensive  works.  Persons 
who  have  never  seen  it  have  reported  it  as  a  reclaimed  marsh, 
and  an  island  formed  by  changes  of  current  in  the  river.  Such 
is  not  the  case ;  the  island  being  an  original  formation,  and  in 
fact  a  part  of  the  main  land,  separated  by  a  narrow  channel  only. 
It  was  firm  land  at  the  first  occupation  of  the  country  by  English 
colonists,  and  was  taken  up  by  a  Land  Company  of  London  in 
1699,  a  fort  being  erected  on  it  for  defense.  It  was  occupied  as 
farms  as  early  as  1705,  and  titles  descending  from  these  have 
been  regularly  derived  by  a  number  of  occupants  and  residents 
down  to  the  present  time.  The  old  Island,  farmed  and  occupied 
in  this  way  for  a  hundred  and  fifty  years,  contained  235  acres  2-b  *L 
by  the  original  and  official  survey  of  XS§5£  It  was,  from  the 
beginning,  protected  against  extreme  high  tides  by  an  embank- 
ment of  earth,  now  made  a  strong  stone  wall.  Within  the  last 
fifty  years  a  "New  Meadow"  has  been  reclaimed  and  added  to  the 
original  Island  on  the  western  or  Schuylkill  side.  This  new 
portion  contains  174  acres,  and  is  enclosed  by  a  strong  stone 
wall.  Though  having  the  same  foundation  of  clay  and  gravel  as 
the  old  Island,  the  depth  of  alluvial  soil  is  greater  on  this  new 
portion. 

The  old  island  has  an  average  of  perhaps  16  feet  of  alluvial 
soil  and  clay;  below  which  is  firm  gravel  and  clay,  such  as 
underlies  the  whole  peninsula  on  which  Philadelphia  is  situated. 
On  this  soil  oaks,  scarcely  less  than  three  centuries  old,  are 
growing.  The  soil  is  nowhere  spongy  or  marshy.  The  grasses 


26 

grown  over  the  whole  island,  old  and  new,  are  dry  meadow 
grasses  exclusively,  clover  and  timothy;  and  the  crops  are  heavy 
and  unfailing.  Though  the  surface  is  below  the  reach  of  the 
highest  tides,  the  drainage  is  perfect,  and  floods  or  overflows 
never  occur.  Borings  disclose  a  succession  of  firm  strata  through- 
out, and  those  undertaken  by  the  Naval  Commission  to  test  the 
reclaimed  portion  of  the  island,  only  show  a  few  feet  more  of 
mixed  clay  and  alluvial  soil  on  the  top.  Firm  clay,  gravel,  and 
sand  underlie  the  whole  island  and  all  its  surroundings  of  marsh 
and  river  surface.  The  bottom  of  the  Delaware  is  everywhere 
firm,  affording  good  holding  ground,  and  firm  clay  is  excavated 
on  the  Schuylkill  side  in  all  dredgings  there  undertaken. 

For  such  filling  as  should  not  be  supplied  from  natural  dock 
excavation  on  the  island  itself,  there  is  an  inexhaustible  supply 
of  the  best  gravel  and  clay  in  the  adjacent  lands  on  both  sides 
of  the  river.  The  cost  of  filling  a  cubic  yard  deep,  would  be 
but  about  $1.200  per  acre ;  or  less  than  the  cost  of  excavating  and 
removing  high  shores.  Refuse  excavations  from  the  city  would 
also  afford  a  supply  of  filling  material  without  cost.  Little  or  no 
dredging  would  be  required  in  front  of  the  wharves  and  docks, 
the  depth  of  water  everywhere  being  great,  and  nearly  the  exact 
requisite. 


The  proximity  of  New  London  to  the  ocean,  and  its  accessi- 
bility to  hostile  approach  from  that  quarter,  would  render  it  in- 
secure as  a  site  for  a  great  Navy  Yard.  It  would  be  particularly 
indefensible  against  steam  iron-clad  frigates  of  modern  con- 
struction. In  1812  Forts  Trurnbull  and  Griswold  proved  insuffi- 
cient to  protect  it  against  wooden  vessels,  and  they  would  serve 
far  less  efficiently  against  iron-clad  ships.  No  such  apprehension 
can  reasonably  be  felt  in  regard  to  Philadelphia.  The  Delaware 


27 

bay  and  river  have  never  been  successfully  entered  by  a  hostile 
fleet,  though  affording  deeper  water  than  the  entrance  to  almost 
any  other  harbor  of  the  Atlantic  Coast.  The  Government  ob- 
viously regards  a  Navy  Yard  in  the  Delaware  as  absolutely 
secure  from  attack  by  an  enemy. 

The  deficiency  and  expensiveness  of  timber  grown  in  the 
neighborhood  of  New  London,  and  the  necessity  of  drawing  it 
from  remote  places,  is  a  positive  objection  to  it  as  an  eligible  site 
for  a  Navy  Yard;  nor  is  the  "Salisbury  iron,"  though  useful  for 
certain  purposes,  when  obtained  at  an  extraordinary  cost,  suffi- 
ciently abundant  to  constitute  an  important  item  in  the  consider- 
ation of  a  suitable  location  for  the  construction  of  machinery  and 
iron-clad  ships. 

The  experience  of  the  proprietors  of  the  Collins'  line  of  steam- 
ships in  the  use  of  this  iron  in  the  formation  of  shafts  for  the 
steamer  Atlantic  was  not  favorable  to  the  adoption  of  iron  of 
that  quality  in  the  building  of  machinery — the  breaking  of  the 
shaft  made  of  Salisbury  iron  in  rnid  ocean  greatly  endangered 
the  lives  of  the  passengers  and  risked  the  loss  of  the  vessel. 

The  abundance,  variety  and  suitableness  of  Pennsylvania  iron 
and  coal,  during  the  present  emergency  of  the  Government,  has 
been  sufficiently  demonstrated  by  many  practical  tests,  and  it  does 
not  require  any  further  proofs  of  the  elasticity,  tensile  strength, 
and  hardness  of  this  metal  to  ensure  its  preference  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  great  guns  in  Pittsburg,  and  the  further  use  of  it 
in  plating  vessels  of  war. 


University  of  California 

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Return  this  material  to  the  library 

from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


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70  Board  of  Trade*] 

L1+7P53     Statements  re- 

lating  to  a 
lavy  Yard  in  the  Dela- 


ware 


SllMMl 


A    000  703 


VA 
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Southen 
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